Trust Me
by Defilia
Summary: All Erik wanted was new fresh start when arriving at his new school but he never imagined things to go like this. Gakuen AU. Norway/Denmark Sweden/Finland and other pairings!
1. Chapter 1

Summer essays. Only the brew of Satan was capable of such an act. There was no other reason why this idea had been invented in the first place. Summer was to enjoy oneself and basically do nothing until the hectic life at school kicked in again. Not that Erik had done much stuff during summer though. Since his family had moved he lived hours and hours away from his old friends. The only contact he had was online and for some reason that didn't quite do it. So instead of being that quiet follower in a group of 2 friends he'd spent his days half naked in front of fans (because fuck it was hot here) and reading books until he got bored. Nevertheless the boy had postponed summer homework for his brand new school until the last minute and now he was sitting behind his desk at three in the morning, hopelessly trying to come up with something.

Sleep was only for the dead.

He took another sip of his lukewarm coffee before staring at the blank piece of paper on his computer screen again but sadly the urge to just throw the monitor out of the window was still present. The assignment was for Religion. Too bad that Erik wasn't even religious but apparently it was a mandatory class at Crowby's so he just had to sit and take it as a man for a whole damn year.

It wasn't that Erik was a disaster with writing essays, oh not at all. The only problem that stood in his way of finishing this damn thing was the fact that the subject of the essay wasn't even about religion. If it had been the case Erik would've just spent an evening bulshitting about a higher being and all that crap those teachers loved to read from their non-believing students. No, the thing was that the subject had to be his life.

Yes, his life.

"Write a 3-4 pages essay on your personal history. Keep the focus on yourself and include moments of great personal importance."

What was there to say? He hadn't even lived for two decades. He was born, got a baby brother, had an uneventful childhood and they moved. The end. The most life-changing event in his boring and meaningless life was actually the moving at the beginning of summer. His little brother once had to be rushed to the hospital because of appendicitis at the age of five…. Not that that had been so horribly life changing, nor did it have anything to do with his own life.

In conclusion: Erik had no idea how to start.

He didn't even know this teacher. For all he knew he could just wing it by talking crap that teachers appreciated like he always did without having to worry this much. Give him any other topic and he could present you a seven-page essay on the sleeping habits of sloths if he wanted to, the process of how knitting a scarf worked; anything but this. He was 17 for god's sake, what was there to tell of a 'life story'? Grade A student Erik Nilsen would rather die than turning in an essay about his life because it was of such horrible quality. Then again, wasn't the whole 'grade A student' thing the little label he wanted to get rid of? New school, new opportunities? He wanted to ditch the image of the scared fragile boy who never dared to be a minute late for class, let alone skip one; the boy who never had any real friends besides a kid who just conveniently took violin lessons with him or a girl that everyone considered twisted while Erik liked the label eccentric more.

He turned around on his chair for a while, eyes locked on the ceiling fan that had stopped working from the second they had walked in here 2 months ago and still wasn't fixed. No, this was going to change at Crowby's; or that was the plan at least. He would be more social, engage in conversations for once in his life instead of just sitting, listening while silently judging. Erik just hoped that things would work out for once. He honestly didn't look forward to getting to share a room with someone else he didn't even know until they sat on the bed besides yours. He sighed, took another swig of his coffee that had become cold by now. Coughing for a second, he decided that he needed a new and warm one if he ever wanted to finish this essay by tomorrow. The due date wasn't until 3 days from now but something in the back of his mind told him that he wouldn't have much time to actually work on an essay once he arrived at Crowby's tomorrow. After stretching a bit more than was actually necessary, Erik silently opened the door to the hallway and tiptoed his way downstairs, careful not to wake either his parents or his little brother as he made his way to the kitchen where his thermos was located.

Once downstairs he found said younger brother hunched over a bowl of cereal with his ipod playing a song loud enough for Erik to hear the buzzing from where he was standing.

Neither of them spoke while obviously aware of each other's presence in the narrow kitchen while Erik poured himself some coffee that had been kept warm in a thermos. Black with no sugar, only the pure bitter taste of caffeine.

It wasn't until he leaned against the kitchen counter that Emil pulled out the earpods, song still buzzing through the small speakers.

"You shouldn't be awake at this hour." Erik started speaking with both hands firmly grasping the warm mug.

Emil just looked up unimpressed from his last bite of cereal. "Neither should you."

He couldn't help but smile a bit at that statement, "I have homework that I need to finish."

"Before school starts?"

He nodded as his lips found their way to the warm drink again.

"What's your excuse?" Erik then asked while Emil put his bowl in the sink, letting water fill it to the brim. He made a gesture for Erik to scoot over so he could store the cereal box back where it was supposed to be.

"Just nervous, couldn't sleep." He finally replied with a small sigh as he leaned against the counter right next to his brother.  
Another sip of coffee. "You'll be fine, don't worry."

Emil just chuckled a little with crossed arms, staring at his bare feet that looked so much more interesting than this conversation. Erik knew it was just his basic shyness, even around people he was comfortable with. He himself wasn't the one to talk here. Mostly he refrained from talking unless people asked him something and more often than not it always ended up being a remark of some sorts. Lack of social skills apparently ran in the family.

"Have you seen the uniforms?" His younger brother asked as he placed both hands on the counter to lift himself up. With a small thud he sat there, now much higher than where Erik was standing who was still silently sipping down his coffee. It was a good feeling, the way he felt that warm string of liquid slithering its way to his stomach and warming him from the inside out. "No, no I haven't. Didn't dare to check yet to be honest." He replied honestly with a small sigh.

"They look horrible…."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, blue, brown and white. The worst are the chequered pants."

"Dear god…."

Small and quiet laughter from the both of them followed after which they both went silent again. Erik didn't need to inform Emil how scared he actually was, that he was just as nervous as him. The homework had been a nice cover-up; he knew that. If it hadn't been for the bright shining screen of his computer he probably couldn't get a decent night rest either because of the stress.

When he was all out of coffee there wasn't an excuse anymore and he bid his little brother goodnight with the small advice to at least try and get some sleep as well. Both of them had a big day tomorrow after all. There was a reason why he didn't want to pay attention to the boxes and trunks in the hallway.

He lay silently in bed, just like he always did. Erik wasn't the kind of guy who moved a lot during his sleep; or well, that was what he heard from other people. Emil turned out to be the kid who snuggled in a burrito of blankets, clinging to everything and everyone while Erik just took hold of his pillow and didn't move for the rest of the night. Feet kicked the remaining blankets from his body as his head cocked to the right, watching the movement of the curtains caused by the welcomed cool summer breeze. It was hot, so unbearably hot here and silently he wondered if the dorms at Crowby's would have air conditioning or else his body would melt away before classes would start.

Unconsciously his mind drifted to the essay again while he closed his eyes in a ridiculous attempt to get some sleep. He really hadn't done anything useful with his life so far. Maybe this new school was for the best, his old friends only slowed him down anyway. He would find more interesting people at Crowby's and with some luck they could show him what living was really about. No more violin practices to avoid human contact or stuffing his head with useless information about mythology. This new school year meant a different Erik.

Because honestly, there was a reason why there weren't essays about people like him.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time they had loaded everything in the car, Erik's shirt was sticking to his skin like duct tape. It was clear that he really didn't come outside except for when he had to walk from one location with air conditioning to the other. Emil was definitely enjoying his time in the car; cool air blowing in his face like it was the first week of spring all over again. Erik shook his head and checked if they had everything packed and ready before giving a thumbs up to his dad who closed the front door.

The car ride was pleasant with a bearable temperature, often even chill enough to send goose bumps across Erik's skin from time to time. Apart from that the trip had been rather uneventful with him reading and Emil casually listening to his iPod again to avoid being social and having conversations with his parents. Sadly this left the eldest of the two to answering their parents' unnecessary questions. In the end Erik even gave up on reading and gave in to his parents' constant reassuring. It only seemed as if they needed this reminder that everything was going to be fine at this new school more than he and Emil did combined. But hey, that was where parents were for in the end.

When they finally arrived at Crowby's it took all of Erik's willpower to open that car door and let in the excruciating heat of the midday sun that to him closely resembled hellfire. He was the first to be dropped off as Emil's dorm was on the complete other side of the campus and his parents rather wanted to drive around it than dragging luggage along. They stopped about a few feet away from the dorms, in between the line of cars already present. With the three of them unloading the car (Emil still not moving from his spot in the backseat) it only took about ten minutes to move everything from the car to his room, number 74. By that time the sweat was dripping from Erik's forehead for the second time that day and he just wanted to be left alone and lay on his bed at that point.

"I'm old enough to unpack my stuff myself mom…." He said as his mother started to line his huge collection of books on the shelves of the plain bookcase. Plain, that was a word that described this whole dorm in general. To Erik's great annoyance it turned out that Corwby's favoured bunk beds instead of two separate ones and liked to keep them as simple as possible with cheap unpolished wood and vinyl mattresses. The whole room was nothing more than one big white box with a light brown linoleum floor that had obviously seen better days. The only upside that this place had was the small bathroom which made Erik thanks the gods for not having to take showers with half a dorm.

"Just a minute, I only have to make your bed and then-"

"Mom….."

His dad was already in the doorway, ready to move with car keys swinging on his fingers.  
"C'mon, you can do all that stuff to Emil's room. Erik's right."

Erik himself had no time to agree as his mother pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. If he wasn't mistaking he could even hear the quiet sobs coming from his shoulder. Not knowing what to do he just gently patted his mother on the shoulder, trying his best to hug her back, as he had no space to move, really.  
"I-I'm gonna miss you too mom…."He managed to choke out before she let go of him with a small sniff.

"Now, remember to behave yourself. I don't want to get a phone call that you got into trouble…" His dad remarked. As if he was the one to give him this advice with that ridiculous tattoo on the shoulderblade from his younger days, a smoking addiction he still wasn't completely cured from and the fact that Erik's record was still as clean as it could possibly be.

Erik sighed, "No drinking, smoking, drugs or anything that you wouldn't do." He replied monotonously as if he'd done it a hundred times before. Again, it was stupid to even go over this. He'd never touched a cigarette in his life and the only type of alcohol he'd ever gotten was a glass of champagne on New Years and he planned to keep it that way too.

After that there were some more hugs and reassuring to call in the weekends. When all of that was over, Erik watched them drive off of campus, Emil waving goodbye awkwardly from the window until they were out of sight. He then proceeded to drag his desk chair outside to just sit and observe like he always did. There weren't many kids around which was probably normal at this time. He'd been dropped off reasonably early with Emil still having to unpack his whole luggage at the other side of the campus. Everyone who was already here apparently knew someone: laughing and talking as they made their way to their dorms packed with bags or already enjoying the weather. Most of them seemed to be unfazed by this late summer heat and Erik wondered if he would ever get used to it before it was over and autumn would kick in. He'd forgotten to pack a fan and sure hoped his roommate was clever enough to bring one. His main source of worry was still his lack of friends and the looming probability that this could be his fate for the upcoming years here at Crowby's.

Apart from the 4 dorm buildings around the huge patch of grass there wasn't much else to see except for the school building itself in the distance. No benches to encourage the students to spend their time outside when not taking classes or some statue of an important person to brighten up the lives of the teachers. The whole patch of grass merely looked like an old soccer field that had not been taken care of. The grass would probably be bone-dry and not pleasant to lie on. Erik silently prayed that the classrooms were in a better condition.

The sun was glaring and for a moment he even considered taking off his shirt but decided against it. It wasn't that he was that ashamed of his whole body; he rather not confront his possible new classmates with it before school had even started. The sun would merely burn his skin anyway and again, his body wasn't really something to openly brag about either. Most guys went through their grow spurt and were left tall and lanky but Erik didn't really grow that much but was still classified in the lanky department for some reason. Once again a hooray for awkward Erik Nilsen.

Taking about possible classmates: it seemed that a guy and a girl were making their way towards Erik's dorm. He hadn't expected his possible new roommate to arrive this early. From this distance he could already distinguish a scarf on a white shirt and bloody hell why would anybody wear a scarf in this weather for god's sakes. He seemed tall, spiky hair helping him get to those few inches more that he obviously didn't need in the first place. The girl was not a lot shorter and Erik had to accept the fact that she was probably not much smaller than he was himself. There were beautiful curves hidden under that wavy summer dress and Erik swore that it was her laugh that he could hear from his not-so-comfortable chair in the sun. Halfway across the grass they said goodbye and the girl made a right turn, only to leave Mister Tall on his way to Erik.

His suspicions about it being his new roommate got confirmed when he arrived at the door. The stale smell of cigarettes accompanied his whole appearance in that A-shirt and tight black pants. Great just great, out of all people Erik had to share a dorm with a smoker. Luckily he didn't have to fear for the stench lingering in his own clothes as Crowby's had a no-smoking policy in the dorms. The guy gave him a quick look before entering and Erik could distinguish the thud of his bag landing on one of the beds.

Erik decided to just sit there for a few moments longer, trying his best not to make an overly eager impression to meet his new roommate. If he wanted to accomplish something here he had to play it cool. Play it cool as his grey shirt was still soaking wet with sweat and his hair was sticking to his forehead. Maybe he could make a joke about not being able to stand heat with moving and all….Oh who was he kidding, Erik telling jokes, good one.

So he slowly got up and rolled the chair back inside and behind the desk only to find the guy lying on the bottom bunk, reading a small book. His huge bag had been dumped on what Erik now considered his own bed since the bottom one had been obviously claimed.

"Shouldn't you unpack or something?" He remarked slightly annoyed by this and immediately regretted it. This was a great first impression, being rude to your new roommate, the person who you had to share a few square metres with for a whole year. But, then again this guy hadn't been that polite either with the whole luggage affair. He would probably hate and ignore him for the rest of the year and there went Erik's new social life.

Mr Tall looked up for a second, and shook his head with a small smile.  
"Shouldn't you?"

Erik frowned for a second before it hit him that apart from the small amount of books that his mother had stacked, the rest of his luggage was still neatly folded while he had been sitting outside. Smart. He mentally smacked his head and sighed. Better to introduce himself than be the fool who was ignoring the guy's question in order to not look stupid again.

"Erik, Erik Nilsen. Nice to meet you." He started, hand outstretched. Oh hell this was awkward. Apparently Mr Tall thought the same and found it funny to just let him stand there with his outstretched hand like a moron. As he stood there Erik noticed the thin white line on the guy's forehead and those uncaring green eyes.

"Constantijn…" The guy finally replied, not looking up from his book and still not shaking his hand so Erik just decided to ruffle his hair with it instead. Constantijn himself didn't really seem to care about engaging in a conversation, nor did he even plan on taking off his shoes as he lay there on the bed. Erik bit his lip for a second, eyes drifting from one boring point to another before he decided to just unpack because this was going nowhere.

Still he couldn't help but jolt a little when there was rapid and loud banging on the door. It embarrassed him and he honestly hoped that Constantijn hadn't noticed. The knocking didn't seem to stop though and Constantijn had to yell to be heard over the noise.

"Just come in already!" It sounded annoyed at least but apparently the source of the banging didn't seem to have noticed that as he swung the door open.

The guy that now stood in the doorway wasn't that much shorter than Constantijn, blonde hair that seemed to defy gravity and a Cheshire grin big enough that Erik thought it would break his face in half.

Even after the volume of the banging Erik couldn't possibly be prepared for the loudness of the voice that followed:

"Okay so, I just arrived seconds ago and I already find those two licking each others' faces off in my dorm. Seriously, I'm gonna claim the top bunk because hell no I'm not sleeping on that bottom bed when they are done! Anyway, enough about Waldy's love life because I still want to puke when I think about it. Do ya wanna go to the lake and please tell me ya have fucking cigarettes because I need one after this traumatic experience!"

It was one rattle of words which Erik wasn't even able to fully take in. He honestly already lost it at 'arrive' because he couldn't stop staring at this guy's face. The abundance of freckles on his façade that would probably fade again by the time winter arrived or the high cheekbones that made him look so much older despite of the childish freckles. That broad frame visible through the thin red shirt as he marched into the room with the sound of flip-flops accompanying him. Damn, puberty had been this guy's bitch.

"Oh hey, who's the new guy who doesn't have the ability to blink?" He asked.

Constantijn sighed and put the book aside before sitting up right. If Erik hadn't been staring that much he would've laughed mentally at how he had to hunch over in order not to hit his head against the top bunk.  
His index finger and thumb took hold of the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

"Okay slow down! One question at a time, we've talked about this. 1. Poor you, now you know how I felt when you practically half-fucked your ex-girlfriends when I was standing right next to you 2. No I'm not going to the lake, I still have to unpack and get my stuff. 3. Again, after I've unpacked and 4. This is Erik."

The words made Erik snap out of the little haze just in time as the guy walked over to him. He at least tried to look confident as he was being eyed from head to toe. After all these years he'd expected a remark about his height, maybe even his posture but all he got was a: "Holy fuck, you need to come to the lake with us before you melt into a puddle."

Erik frowned. Had he just been invited to an activity between friends before school had even started? Well….this was easier than he thought, even though the guy had just pointed out the totally obvious state of dehydration he was suffering from. Subtlety wasn't his thing apparently.

"Erik, this is Preben. Nice to meet you yada yada, you know the drill." Constantijn added, slightly more unnerved than he had been before. Preben didn't seem to notice that tone again for some reason and took hold of Constantijn's bag on the top bunk. He also didn't seem to discriminate amongst someone's clothing and preferred to just stuff whatever was in his hands into the nearest drawer until everything was full. Erik and Constantijn simultaneously groaned at the sight and this was apparently the first thing both had in common.

"tadaaaa! All done, now give me my fucking cigarette!"

Erik wondered if he had done all this on purpose just to get his fix of nicotine or if Preben was really just the guy who unpacked like this. God, his mother would've died if she had seen this happening.

Constantijn threw his a pack from his front pocket after he'd sighed and taken one himself.  
"God, never ever fucking unpack for me again…. You owe me five bucks for that pack by the way."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." He was just waving it away as he took a cigarette out himself. "A thank you would've been nice but this is better." Preben answered with that smile still in place as he lit it.

Erik watched as both were now smoking in his dorm and couldn't help but clear his throat to indicate that what they were doing was so horribly against the rules. Didn't these two know? They could get kicked out of this school if they got caught right here and now.

Both just looked up uncaringly until something apparently snapped in Preben's head.

"Oh fuck, sorry dude!" He began, lighting a second cigarette with his own and handing it over to Erik who just watched it in confusion. "Didn't think about the fact that you smoked too. Sorry"

Erik's eyes widened at the statement. This hadn't been his intention at all! But here he was with a lit cigarette that was slowly burning away between his fingers as the two just eyed him until he did something. He'd never smoked; it hadn't even been his intention to ever pick up the habit. A sigh escaped from his lips. Well…better start now then…  
He took a way too long drag, watching the paper burn up rapidly, exposing the ashes at the end. His whole body immediately protested against this marvellous idea and started coughing, wheezing, anything to get the smoke out of his system. All of it seemed ineffective as he kept on coughing, even considered vomiting here and now until tears started prickling in his eyes. Forget this stupid, stupid idea; he was never going to smoke again in his whole life.

"I don't think he smokes…." Constantijn pointed out unnecessarily with a small chuckle. Preben just patted Erik on the back a bit too harshly, making him cough again.

"He'll get used to it."

Erik wasn't sure he wanted to go through all of that again but nodded weakly anyway.

"Now, we all ready for the lake?" He asked with so much glee that Erik wondered how old he actually was because he'd never heard anyone speaking like that except for a five-year-old at Christmas. The fact that his hand was still firmly placed on his shoulder wasn't helping with Erik's mood either.

Constantijn made his way to the doorway. "Gotta get my couch at Antonio's fir-"

"Dude, you've been lying around reading-" Preben walked over to the little book and eyes scanned the title page "–fucking Van Ostaijen, you could've gotten it way sooner." He didn't seem to understand that it was important to let people finish their sentences either and Erik had the sudden urge to smack him across the head. At least the unnecessary body contact was gone.

Constantijn didn't seem to be annoyed by this however: "AND I have an appointment with Miss Camille."

Preben had already made himself comfortable on the bottom bed by now, casually waving that cigarette around with his other hand behind his head, the little book lying on his chest.

"Oh yeah sure, just leave me alone on the first evening already to make out with that lady of yours. " he spoke, obviously trying to sound hurt even though with that smile he clearly wasn't. "Why can't you just be a good boy and try not to aim for the women who aren't already in college?"  
Constantijn merely huffed ad threw his cigarette butt onto the grass.

"I need someone who raises the intellectual level around here." He chuckled before his small book got tossed at his direction, only missing by a few inches.

"Fuck you too! Say hii from me though!"

And Constantijn was off with the door still wide open, leaving Erik alone with this weird idiot. Here he stood, having witnessed a conversation between friends like he wasn't even in the same room. Then again, he was sorta used to that sort of stuff right now, the only difference being that those people weren't usually that loud or obnoxious. Add to that that these two most likely weren't the kind of students with a clean record. Out of all people he had to be roommates with those kind of guys. Great, just marvellous.

It wasn't until then that he noticed that he hadn't moved from his spot since Preben had walked in and the cigarette had already burned up between his fingers completely while he had been holding it. Wow, good job at making a good first impression Nilsson. Back to stage awkward and silent, as always. On the other hand, did he really want to impress guys like them? Getting rid of his old image was one thing but being sent away on his first week at Crowby's was a totally different story. First things first however as it looked like a good idea to actually move right now, you know, to show that rooting to the floor wasn't one of his casual habits. Erik walked to the front door, only to find that the little book was gone. Constantijn really seemed to take care of his books, something he could appreciate in a person.

"You didn't want to read that shit anyway…" was the reply to no question in the first place.

Erik turned around, casually closing the door behind his back.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked. Where did this moron get the audacity to just assume what he enjoyed to read and what not? The fact that he was still lying there, casually filling the room with even more smoke while trying to boss him around was more then enough to piss Erik off. The heat was making him nauseous as it mixed with the horrible smell of nicotine and he just wanted to lie down but he wasn't just letting this go.

Preben tilted his head to eye him. "Well first of all I doubt that you're fluent in Dutch…and secondly Van Ostaijen isn't your typical poet of the era. Dadaism in a nutshell. Not everyone's cup of tea if ya know what I mean."

Erik stood perplex with the new intake of information. Apparently Constantijn was Dutch, something that wasn't even traceable in his accent unless he just learned the language in his spare time. Both of these two seemed to know their fair share of poetry and for some reason he hadn't even dared to dream that Preben even knew what Dadaism was supposed to be.

"You really have a hard time with blinking, don't ya?" Preben was right in his face at that moment and Erik cursed himself for zoning out again. At this distance Erik could smell the cigarette smoke and sweat in his shirt together with something that made him think of the sea. A combination he never thought that could work so well together.

"Just impressed that you are aware of the term Dadaism." Erik retorted sharply. If Preben was going to point out things that were on his mind without thinking and so was he. For a moment there wasn't a little voice hushing him, telling him to keep quiet if he wanted to make some friends at this school. If things kept going this way Erik would be back at sarcastic square one in no time before he had even moved to the second.

And Preben was just laughing. Not smiling or grinning but really hollering like he had just heard the best joke in ages.  
"Wow, you're even more grumpy than Waldy"

Erik had no idea who this "Waldy" was supposed to be even though it was the second time Preben had managed to drop the name. Whoever it was, he seemed to annoy the crap out of him, which only made Erik feel some form of respect for the guy.

"Anyways, make sure you're ready in about an hour, we're going to the lake."

A pat on the back as if he was 9 and finally Preben was out of the dorm and just like Constantijn he had the habit of leaving the door wide open. Erik didn't mind and just prayed that the fresh but damp air was enough to ventilate the smoke out of his still packed clothes. An hour to unpack and get himself in a decent shape before that hurricane of energy would be here again. Erik hoped that there would be more people at the lake than just Preben as Constantijn had already refused the other's offer and he really didn't want to handle that guy on his own. To tell the truth, Erik wasn't really that eager to go. He much rather wanted to read a little and get a good night's rest before his first day started but the prospect of meeting new people pushed him into unpacking just that little bit faster. The remaining books in his bag were stacked on the bookshelf and his clothing got neatly folded in the drawers that weren't stuffed with Constantijn's unfortunate clothing. The only decoration his desk needed was the instant coffee maker he'd brought from home together with a picture of him and Emil for the dramatic effect. His violin got a place next to the desk. Erik couldn't help but sigh and shake his head as he watched the room once more. The place still looked more like a sterile hospital environment than an actual dorm where teenage guys lived. He regretted not bringing any posters or other ridiculous stuff to decorate the place.

Little droplets of sweat tickled their way down his back and at that point the realisation and shock kicked in. No air-conditioning. Erik groaned as he let himself drop onto the bottom vinyl mattress with hands over his face. This wasn't worth it. He would die of a heat stroke by the time that the week was over.

After lying there for a while in self-pity, Erik managed to get up and shower before putting on a new shirt and some flip-flops which he could endure if he channelled out the horrible noise of them clicking as he walked. The shower itself had been disappointed to say at least. The pressure was strong enough to resemble a person crying on your head and it took Erik ages just to soak his hair more than his sweating had done. Nevertheless he was done before the hour was over and he just casually flopped back onto the top bunk this time.

All of this being worth it was all he hoped for right now.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a reason why Erik hadn't been aware of the fact that there was indeed a lake near Crowby's buildings even though he considered himself well informed about the school and the surrounding. From what he'd gathered it was just one huge campus with a forest that eventually led to the main highway. The fact that the path to the lake was anything but obvious probably helped a lot with it being unknown of. They walked through the first bits of the forest after entering it near the soccer field, casually avoiding tree braches as they were held onto and let go of again. The road -if that was what you could call it- was horribly unpleasant with thorn braches and bushes blocking the way. It was pure guesswork to know where they were headed but Preben seemed to know the way by heart as he guided all of them through the thick realm of trees. There was also a steep slope down and Erik never wanted to take this route on a rainy day because he almost tripped even without it being slippery. After that they had to cross a creek with a little bridge that consisted of thick plywood and extended from one bank to the other. Erik was sure that the planks were already in a state of rotting but decided not to mention it as they one by one made it to the other side. After that they followed a much clearer path of stomped down forest vegetation, a sign that they were around here more often, to eventually make their way through thick bushes.

It felt like being stranded on a reversed island with the water in the middle surrounded by thick trees. Erik felt unhot for the first time since arriving at the campus and man did it feel good. Preben had been right; the shade all around him was welcomed, together with the lake itself. This place was a treasure. Looking around he saw that they were standing on some sort of little beach consisting of pebbles and rocks all around the lake. There were some chairs on this side too, probably nicked from a hallway or a class when teachers weren't paying attention. They had a faint pale colour, a little reminder of the bright blue they used to be in better days before the sun had taken its toll on them.

The lake itself was awfully quiet, not even the sound of the highway that shouldn't be that far from this place. Erik had at least expected the sound of a stream or crickets in the tall grass but it turned out to be mostly Preben and Tino's laughing that filled the air.

Right, Tino Vainamoinen, a junior like Erik with a face so innocent that one wouldn't be able to spot him in a group of choirboys. Angelic features, huge bright eyes with pink instead of tan skin from summer and blond hair that looked bleached because of the sun. A pretty illusion of a perfect son, that was until he heard him talking.

He turned out to be the kind of guy who used more swears in the last 10 minutes than Erik had in a whole month. His mother would've had her second heart attack of the day for sure. It wasn't that Tino wasn't friendly, not at all. He'd introduced himself with a bright smile and was even so polite to ask about Erik's life before he arrived at Crowby's. Hobbies, friends, family; the usual stuff but, sadly, just like the other two of Erik's new friends Tino had a love for cigarettes and Erik made sure to pass it down this time when he got offered one.

Even though he didn't know much about Tino except for the fact that his family was originally from Finland, his favourite things besides cigarettes were skittle vodka and salmiakki and that he could skip rocks like a pro; Erik liked Tino very much because he didn't take Preben's shit like Constantijn had done.

"Stop complaining for fuck's sakes."

"I can't help it that my eyes were almost burned out of my sockets!" Preben had protested and Erik was sure that if there had been animals around in the first place they would be long gone now. He just decided to fumble with the small hole in his shirt instead of contributing to the conversation as the others talked.

"As if what you did to Mathilde the day before Spring Break was such a beauty for the eye to behold." Tino had retorted, taking another long drag of his cigarette before blowing the smoke in Preben's face.

Preben had gotten up by then -unfazed by the smoke- and pulled the bright red shirt over his head, making his hair look even more dishevelled that it had before. He made sure to throw the piece of clothing at his friend's head. "You promised to never bring that up again!" It was the first time that Erik had seen him in an emotion that could be regarded as something that wasn't happy. He also told himself that he wasn't obviously staring at the bare chest in front of him.

Tino merely snorted as he threw the shirt and his cigarette but aside so that both landed in between the rocks. "No, I promised to never bring it up when Neddie was around. Do you see Constantijn here? Exactly. I'm a man of my word, you know that."

Erik just silently watched and judged, like he always did. For once he wasn't alone in this role though. Apparently Berwald, or as Preben liked to call him 'Waldy', wasn't really the talkative person either. Erik was even fairly certain that Berwald didn't enjoy being here and was just around to accompany his boyfriend on this journey to protect him from the big bad Preben. That was just an assumption however, one that only got proven by the angry looks he shot Preben from time to time in a fruitless attempt to wipe that smug look off of his face. Berwald's glares were intimidation to say at least with his towering height. He truly wasn't someone to mess with but Tino had contradicted that with: "Ber is one big teddy bear once you get to know him, really. He just isn't the best at expressing himself." Erik could relate to that, except for the scary and intimidation part. He just mostly looked awkward or boring when he wasn't able to 'express himself' properly. Nevertheless he'd found his partner in silence without expressing it. Not being the only one who didn't speak didn't raise any questions on why he didn't participate in conversations; just the way he liked it.

"So, I doubt that those two gentleman have given you Crowby's wisdom yet…" Tino started as Preben had run off to make the worst attempt at a cannonball into the lake.

Erik looked up from the ripples in the water that slowly disappeared as Preben hadn't resurfaced yet. "Is there Crowby wisdom I need to know of then?"

Tino just chuckled, lighting a second cigarette with the lighter that Preben had left behind.

"You really thought it was just gonna be an eat-sleep-study kind of deal around here?"

And in all honestly, Erik had wanted to reply yes but instead refrained from answering. Berwald made a noise that resembled a faint chuckle, which made Erik just stare around uncomfortably until Tino spoke up again.

"Oh god you did…" He shook his head with a small smile after which he turned around to yell at Preben who was apparently enjoying himself with a lazy backstroke.

"You really weren't kidding when you said that the guy was a rookie!"

Berwald had snorted for a second, making Erik look up. His face didn't betray any kind of emotion though; reading this guy was just impossible.

"Why would I? We'll get him there, just like Constantijn!" Was the reply from Preben before his head disappeared beneath the surface of the water for a second time. Erik wasn't too sure what to think of all this. Again, he was used to people talking as if he wasn't there since that was something he'd brought onto himself. When Preben had said how he would get used to smoking he'd been afraid to be thrown into the wrong crowd of people but Tino wasn't that bad now was he? All the people he'd met so far were rather smart to begin with anyway and those were normally not considered the wrong crowd. A cigarette here or there, making sure the smoke was gone by the time he went home. Erik could deal with that. Hell, he had a roommate that smoked, that was enough excuse on its own if his parents would start raising questions.

Tino made sure to clear his throat thoroughly before starting his speech, making Erik smile a little. "Okay first things first. This place is ours and we like to keep it that way. As far as we know the student dean isn't even aware of this lake, making it the perfect hideout.

Second, one does not cheat or rat out on each other. It only brings your fellow students in danger. Also you can just buy the tests from Constantijn-"

Erik wanted to argue that one could also actually study instead of spending money on test questions but he knew that not everyone thought the same way as him on this subject. He couldn't deny that the reassurance of having the right questions was an appealing thought for a lot of students.

" Third, Whatever Ivan asks you, you say no. Also, you better avoid his younger sister in general too. She's a bit-" With that Tino made some weird hand gestures while crossing his eyes. Erik nodded; he got the message although he wasn't sure how much of this he should actually believe.

Before Tino was able to get to point number four he got interrupted.

"Go easy on th' kid…." It was the first time that Erik had heard Berwald talk except for the various nods and grunts of agreement and the chuckles a few minutes ago. His voice was exactly like he'd imagined, deep but the mumbling surprised him at least.

Tino looked shocked, on hand on his hip with a gaping mouth in an obvious joking attempt to play the victim. "I am going easy! Do you think I got all this help when I arrived here as a freshman?"

"HEY!" Preben dragged himself out of the water, shaking his head like a dog to get at least a bit of lake water out of his hair. A hand went through blonde hair in a vain attempt to get it up again. "Fuck you man, I helped ya out tons in your sophomore year!"

"No, you made me addicted to nicotine and showed me the glorious world of alcohol…."

"Exactly!" That Cheshire grin was back on his face again, so obviously proud of pulling Tino on the wrong path. Erik could only imagine how truly innocent he must've been when he first arrived here. Preben went to search for his shirt between the rocks after that.

"The only credit you deserve is that I met Ber because of you, that's all." Tino scooted closer on hands and knees before planting a small kiss on Berwald's lips although Erik wasn't sure if it was going to end up in a total make-out session here and now or not.

"ya two are eating each other's faces again, aren't ya?" Preben wasn't even looking and wasn't planning to either by the looks of it. Instead he favoured making gag noises during his search until he picked up the red piece of fabric with a gleeful 'gotchaa'. Erik just contented himself with connecting the abundance of freckles on Preben's back and shoulders with each other.

Tino pulled back and rolled his eyes while giving Berwald a small smile. "You're just jealous you don't have someone for once."

Preben didn't seem to have a comeback to that as he just silently muttered under his breath, throwing a random stone into the water with such force that it almost made it halfway through. The shirt got pulled over his head again, leaving only a darker patch around the collar from his hair; the water on his body already dried up in the late evening sun. His shorts were still soaked though but that didn't seem to bother him that much.

Tino was halfway through his cigarette when Preben arrived from between the rocks with four beer bottles. Tino himself had declined, saying he only wanted to get shitfaced Friday night at the Vargasses party. Preben just shrugged, telling that he needed more than a beer to actually get him wasted but didn't seem to push his friend into things. Erik took a beer with a bit of hesitation at first, not sure if this was actually a good idea but starting with just a beer seemed like the right thing to do, right? It wasn't that strong and he had to start somewhere after that miserably small amount of champagne on New Year's.

Preben was skilled enough to open each bottle by just the side of one of the plastic chairs and his hands. Erik just watched in amazement as one by one the bottle caps gave in with a little pop. When the bottle was handed to him he just eyed around, trying to make out how much of a swig was enough to make it look convincing yet not that it looked as if he was trying too hard. As Preben's bottle hit first the underside of his and Berwald tapped his onto the top of the neck, Erik had no time to think as the white foam started flowing from the bottle. He got up, holding the drink as far as he could from soaking his shirt.

"What the- what was that for?"

Tino grinned. "See it as a sort of initiation. Welcome to the club."

And with that they clicked the bottles together, Erik's one now sticky and still dripping.

* * *

When Erik entered his room there was a two-seat sofa in the most horrible old-fashioned plaid pattern pushed in one of the corners, together with a beer crate that served as a little coffee table. It cheered things up a bit, even though the couch had obviously seen way better days –as it was more foam than actually couch- and the table couldn't even be called a table, not even with a bit of imagination. At least Constantijn had done more work than Erik had to make things more bearable in their few square metres home but then again, Constantijn had been prepared after probably 4 years at Crowby's already. His roommate himself however, was nowhere to be seen. It was already past 10, the hour that students were supposed to be in their rooms. Tino had already mentioned that the dean wasn't that strict before classes actually started but it still rubbed Erik in the wrong way as the three of his friends decided to hang around at the lake a little longer while Preben had led him back to the soccer field so that he could find his way back to the dorms.

"You'll be fine, ya know…"

Erik had looked up as he had accepted the branch from Preben and let it go again as soon as he had passed it. When he didn't answer the other had just accepted the silence for a few minutes before continuing to talk.

"That ya shouldn't worry that much. Tino always worries about unnecessary stuff. You'll be all right here, we'll make sure ya will."

Erik had quietly thanked him for that when they were finally out of the forest and Preben had just nodded with a huge smile before returning to the lake.

* * *

The words 'see you later' echoed through his mind but Erik wasn't sure if he could count on that. It was probably a big lie just like the phrase 'Sure I will, tomorrow' or his list of friends that consisted out of two lines. He sighed as kicked the flip-flops from his feet. The linoleum floor was anything but refreshing against his feet and to his great annoyance Constantijn hadn't thought of a little fan or something either. The only option was to sleep without pyjamas apparently. Erik let his shorts drop to the floor and pulled his shirt over his head before dropping himself on the top bunk. It was weird how he would've never considered himself a top bunk man but aside from the fact that he could fall to his death after a bad dream there weren't really any downsides.

Classes for him started at around 9 so he figured he would have enough time to get ready and walk to the main building in 15 minutes and thus set his alarm at 8:45. He just hoped that Constantijn wasn't planning on using the shower at that point.

Picking up a book from the shelf he decided to read a little until Constantijn came back, just to be polite. They hadn't really talked so far and even though Erik could totally live with that fact, it was probably better to try and befriend his roommate decently. He had spent a whole evening with three people by a lake, a little bit more social interaction sure wasn't going to kill him at the end of the day.

Treasure Island was exactly like he remembered: decent story but characters so empty and flat that you couldn't make a difference between the Doctor and the Squire even if you wanted to. Just people with different names while they were exactly the same person, making the whole task of reading anything but challenging. Reading in bed felt pleasantly familiar. Things were exactly like at home like this, only it was much hotter and he now lived in a much more compact space.

Constantijn still wasn't back by the time Erik finished with the book and he just pushed every stupid feeling of worry to the back of his mind. This guy knew what he was doing, probably. Nothing to worry about. So Erik decided to get some sleep, still bothered by the heat. He couldn't remember when exactly he fell asleep nor the moment Constantijn entered the room with some noise until quiet took over again. All he did remember was the pleasant edges of his dreams until the buzzing of his alarm went off in the morning.

* * *

**This chapter didn't feel finished for a long while until i just decided to post it anyway.**  
**It's a shorter one but it didn't feel right to just add the start of classes to this part.**

**So hopefully I'm wrong with how this chapter feels and you can all enjoy it nevertheless**

**(oh and about the beer clicking thing, i don't know if this is a thing that everyone does but here in Belgium we like to annoy people by tapping the top and bottom of their beer bottles with ours because you get something like a coke-mentos reaction, just less powerful)**


	4. Chapter 4

The last remnants of his sleep were sticking to his eyes as Erik's hands searched for his alarm to let it shut up already. Although he didn't bother to look, it read 8:45 as planned, which meant that his first class at Crowby's, History, started in fifteen minutes. With both eyes still closed he sat up in bed, shaking his horrible bedhead and groaned slowly. Erik had never been a morning person and preferred to be left alone until he'd had his dose of coffee and today was not any different. Eyes opened drowsily, a frown plastered all over his face as he heard the bathroom door open, an unrecognizable Constantijn with flat hair walking out.

"Good morning to you too." He said and Erik just nodded in reply, furrowed eyebrows still in place. It was too early to figure out if Constantijn had meant that gesture or if it was just a simple morning routine. Why did Erik even care about this anyway?

Instead of breaking his head over it he made his way to the bathroom after turning on his coffee maker, flicking off Constantijn as he commented: "Nice underwear by the way."

That guy was way too much of a morning person and Erik didn't like it one single bit.

The shower was exactly like it had been the day before and only contributed to his horrible mood. God, he needed his coffee. So after his hair was barely soaked, he stepped out of the little stream and towelled his locks dry again in a matter of seconds. Next he pulled on those horrible pants and buttoned up his shirt. The jacket could wait until he left and he sure wasn't going to wear that cardigan with this weather.

This would do for a first day.

When he came out of the bathroom, Constantijn was also done with buttoning his shirt even though his hair was still as flat as roadkill. The door was standing wide open, revealing Preben who was casually smoking a cigarette as he leaned against the doorway. His shirt wasn't even properly tucked in, let alone buttoned up to the top. Erik was definitely going to need his coffee now with this guy present in the room. Dealing with him during the day was hard enough already, at 9 in the morning without his dearest caffeine it was a nightmare.

"Mornin'. Constantijn just told me what a delight you are at this time of the day." He grinned as he put his right hand into his pocket. Erik just rolled his eyes after which he held his hand up in the air. He didn't need to notice the raised eyebrows and questioning looks until he'd poured himself a cup of coffee. After taking a sip from the mug he finally spoke:

"Okay now you're allowed to talk to me." He stated, slowly waking up decently now as the warm liquid found its way to his stomach. Loud laughter filled the room as Preben threw his head back.

"Holy fuck, this guy is a treasure." He managed to bring out between breaths.

Erik just wasn't sure if he had to see that as a compliment or not, but that laugh made his stomach do a few turns. Nevertheless he remained silent as Constantijn gelled his hair upwards in a way that obviously showed he'd done it millions of times before. Preben was just muttering things like "move it, we're gonna be late….not that I care but we're gonna be late." in the doorway as he decided to jump from one foot to the other.

* * *

Crowby's dress code didn't seem that ridiculous when you first looked at it. The uniform was decent, unique in its own way to say at least and was what many considered fashionable. All very fine until you stepped outside in those clothes. Erik was dying already with the sun trying to radiate him straight into his coffin with ridiculous uniform and all. Everybody else seemed to be unfazed by the heat as they one by one made it to their classes. Yesterday the population of students seemed manageable from his little spot in front of his dorm but once Erik arrived at the classroom area it completely overwhelmed him. Luckily for him most students preferred to lounge on the grass or the little sidewalk in front of the classes before they actually had to go inside, so it was easy to manoeuvre himself through the crowd of white blue and beige.

The classrooms were, thank god, pleasantly quiet and cool. They faced the north side and were therefor mostly protected from the sun's global warming effect. Erik slid into the seat next to the one Tino was sitting in, since it felt okay to sit next to someone he considered a friend now. Sitting two seats further was just awkward and anti social, something Erik wasn't going for this year. Taking another sip of his coffee he watched as Tino slowly looked up from his hibernating state on his table. There were some groans and definitely some whining noises before he managed to sit upright.

Speaking of a horrible bedhead….

"Oh god it's so early…" He groaned again but just as he was about to drop his head on the table, he turned to Erik. "Is that coffee?"

"Ye-aah?" Erik managed to bring out, not sure if this was a question he should answer positively or not. The pleading over the top puppy face from Tino made his intentions clear. With a small but unnoticed sigh Erik handed him the mug, which Tino accepted with great appreciation.

"You know-" he started in between mall sips, his horrible morning attitude melting away because of the lukewarm drink. "- I always said that if I ever made it into the student Council I would opt for coffee vending machines here."

"So far you didn't make it I presume?" Erik asked with a raised eyebrow, getting his notebook and pen out on the table.

Tino just smiled brightly. "Nah, who would want to run for student council? Rather no vending machines than doing that."

Erik snorted a little before accepting the cup back from his friend, drowning the last bits of his breakfast.

He almost choked on his last gulp as someone patted him on the back a bit too harshly. Erik coughed once, twice and the back of his hand wiped away whatever was sticking just below his lip as he looked up and gave this person his best shot at Berwald's glares.

It turned out to be the girl he recognized as the one walking beside Constantijn the day before. Immediately his attempt at glaring disappeared, leaving the most confused face in its place as she spoke up.

"So this is the handsome chap everyone is talking about!" She exclaimed and pulled Erik out of his chair. He was sure he would've choked on his coffee a second time if he had still been drinking. But, wait, people were talking about him? Oh god what were they saying and was the handsome chap her share in the conversations or were others actually talking about him like that? God, Erik don't be stupid and focus on this conversation for once. With slight shock still present on his face he looked at the girl who was still smiling brightly at him. Her smile reminded him of Daisy's in the wind of a Spring day and her eyes were equally as green as spring itself. They looked so much warmer than those of Constantijn but they were obviously exactly the same.

She was holding onto him with one hand as the other was waving somewhere above her head. With her head slightly tilted and her tongue sticking out…was she measuring him?

"Dammit, taller." She finally said with a small sigh.

He wanted to interject that it was only a matter of inches and that she obviously got the same genes as her brother in terms of height but refrained from doing so, once again. Speaking up more was still something he had to work on for now.

Erik was saved from much more conversation as their teacher walked in, books tightly pressed against her chest as she strode towards the desk on the other side of the room.

Constantijn's sister sat down on his right as Erik pulled his chair closer to the table after sitting down himself. He wasn't so sure if sitting between these two was the best of ideas but there wasn't really any room to complain about it either. He placed his coffee mug next to his pens. A little nudge made him look up, facing that brightly smiling face again.

"Mathilde." She giggled. "Nice to meet you."

He just managed to swallow before replying with a deadpan voice: "Handsome Chap, Likewise." Since she apparently already knew enough about him to start using the phrase, he didn't bother to give an introduction himself. She laughed again and in a matter of seconds her attention shifted from him to Tino, making her lean over the table in the most ridiculous manner.

"MacDonald's during free period? Preben is already in." She asked, hand next to her little mouth as if she was telling him the most dirty secret and unaware that Erik was sitting right between them, listening to every word.

"Berwald has English then, but I don't think he'd mind." Tino replied, biting his lip in the process. His pen tapped against his chin in the process before he started drawing some random shapes on the blank piece of paper in front of him without looking.

Mathilde bounced in her chair a little. "Constantijn is still in his business mood, so that's settled."

"Miss. Declerck, If you don't mind I'd wish to start my class or do you wish to take over today?"

"No Ma'am…." And to Erik's surprise there was still a smile present on her face as she spoke, even though the whole class was staring. He would've died of shame if this would ever happen to him.

Like apparently every teacher at Crowby's miss. Jacksons carried the name Dr. and wore it with pride. She turned out to be the strictest teacher he could ever imagine. She loved to skip the 'how was your summer' talk to dive into a list of Roman emperors and conquerors together with a tidal wave of data to memorize before the next class started. Apart from that she didn't appreciate the class's input when it came to the course material and preferred to teach while the rest listened; something Erik could totally live with. He never liked class discussions because about ¾ of the students thought they had a valid opinion, which usually consisted of basic knowledge together with something that couldn't be called common knowledge. In conclusion, they were stupid and should leave the teaching to people who studied for it.

He knew he should be listening but at the moment Erik was more amazed at the speed Tino was taking notes with. He just kept on scribbling on the paper, biting his tongue in concentration and Erik started to feel a dreading feeling in his stomach, afraid that he was not doing the effort he should be doing in a class like this. Looking around he saw no other student write that much down, so he decided that it was probably okay.

When Tino shifted the paper in his direction he knew that he was most definitely okay with not taking notes. The paper consisted of huge squares aligned like the desks in the room, each one full of Tino's handwriting that turned out to be a lot loopier than Erik could've ever expected. His eyes scanned the abundance of names and info underneath. Every person that he should or shouldn't know was on there, little descriptions on important things he had to keep in mind. One of them was written in red, with an exaggerated number of exclamation points.

Feliciano Vargas.

Apparently he was the one organizing this party all of them were talking about and Erik still needed an invitation. According to Tino's notes, this wasn't so hard since a simple 'hii' would do. Feli turned out to be one of those social people who invited literally everyone. Erik wasn't complaining of course. He just wasn't so sure if a party was such a good idea on his first week of school. The paper got stuffed in his bag as he endured the rest of class in silence.

* * *

Erik has no real option other than talking to the boy when Tino pushed him into his general direction after class. He took a deep breath, a small part of him happy that he hadn't tripped in the whole pushing affair. His heart was already beating in throat when he approached the group of two. Feliciano was everything but intimidating in the way he flared his arms around with a smile that was even brighter than Preben's. The thing was that Erik swore the kid next to him could kill a man if he wanted to. He was tall with a stern expression on his face that almost beat Berwald's, almost.

Another deep breath. He couldn't do this. What was he going to say?

'Hey I don't know you for shit but some people I met merely a day ago are pushing me to beg you for a party invitation'?

God this was stupid!

Erik had made a turnaround again before even realizing, his feet already carrying him to the other side of the grass and away from all the people flocking around the classrooms.

He mentally winced when someone called out an obnoxious "hey" that was obviously directed to him. With a gulp Erik turned around, eyes closed and his head already making up the best sarcastic retort he could think of.

"You must be new, right?" The voice called out with the cheeriest tone and Erik slowly opened his eyes to see Feliciano way too close for it to be anything but pleasant.

"We're gonna be best friends, yes!"

All Erik could do was nod before bringing out a "Sure, Whatever." In a flat tone, although he was sure that he didn't have a say in the friends affair at all.

Feliciano's bodyguard friend had already dragged his smaller companion a few steps back with a few words of displeasure. Feliciano didn't seem to care however and began to chat away again, totally forgotten about Erik who was still standing right in front of him.

"What Feli is trying to say here I think is that you're invited to his party on Friday as well, I'm Ludwig by the way."

Erik took the outstretched hand to shake it, staring at the two in front of him. Wauw these two were functional in their own weird way.

"Yes!" Feli suddenly found his attention back into the conversation, brightly jumping around. "You know when and where, right?"

"I-I think that won't be a problem." He replied with his eyes directed to anything but those two.

Feliciano had apparently considered this conversation over and started dragging Ludwig by the arm, which Erik didn't mind in the slightest. Flailing arm movements accompanied the words "I see Kiku, c'mon let's go say hii, Ludwig!" almost drowned out Ludwig's silent apology to Erik for Feli's behaviour. Erik just shrugged and walked off in the direction he'd wanted to go before this conversation had ever started, back to a laughing Mathilde and Tino who were sitting against a small oak tree by the side of the main building.

"And did it work?" Mathilde chirped as soon as Erik was in hearing range, clapping her hands enthusiastically.

"Of course it did. If you ask nice enough, Feli would even add you to his will in a heartbeat." Tino added with a smile, eyes on Erik. Erik couldn't help but grin a little at that, his hand still fumbling with the corner of his bag.

Mathilde got up, brushing some dry grass and sandy dirt from her plaid skirt. "I could've asked Lovi really really nicely too if things hadn't worked out…." She added; her pink lips curving into something Erik labelled her not-so-innocent smile from then on.

* * *

Erik had no idea how they were actually going to get to the nearby McDonalds 3 miles away from Crowby's campus, as he sure wasn't going to walk all the way. Therefor he wasn't sure if he should be happy or not when it turned out that they were travelling with a cramped cranberry red two-door that was owned by Preben.

Luckily the car was packed with people that Erik knew, since he wasn't too fond of introducing himself when someone was sitting on his lap because of a lack of space. Scratch that, he hated introducing himself as _he _sat on somebody's lap, since that scenario was a more likely thing to happen. Four people in one way too small car, this day already started out as unforgettable. The vehicle smelled of cigarettes, late summer air and something Erik labelled as Preben's aftershave. How he made that link so easily, he still wasn't sure of and preferred to ignore it for his own wellbeing.

"Erik, meet Serenity"

A snort "You named your car Serenity?"

"Yep, like the ship in Firefly: a total piece of crap but it gets you where you need to be!"

Erik just frowned while he clicked in his seatbelt in the hope that it might save him in case that Serenity wasn't able to get them where they needed to be because of a certain, most likely, irresponsible driver.

"We opted on calling her blood orange for a while." Tino explained next to him with a huge smile. "But Preben would just argue that she was fucking red, not getting the joke that blood orange is, in fact, red and that she's a citrus."

Preben had turned around in his seat –seatbelts were apparently for pussies-, shooting angry looks at the backseat.

"She is NOT!"

Erik was slightly uncomfortable with the fact that everyone in the car seemed to address said car with the pronoun she instead of it. That was apparently a thing as soon as a piece of scrap metal received a name. How did one decide if it was male or female anyway?

Mathilde sighed in the passengers seat, "Oh whatever, just hit the gas already." And in that moment Erik could've sworn he heard Constantijn.

Preben turned out to be a decent driver to say at least. He took some risks, sure, but Erik didn't have to grip the seats out of pure fear once they were on the road as he thought he would. The only issue was that Preben liked to yell obscenities every time another driver decided to play a little more reckless. After about a fast yet noisy drive of 3 miles they finally reached their destination. Erik was glad that his free periods consisted of enough time to actually pull these kinds of trips off, since he wasn't that fond of the idea of skipping classes just yet.

He really wasn't that hungry and decided to pick the hard fries from in between the soggy ones as the rest of the group talked on and on about things that sounded as least vaguely important to them. They all set on the grass with the plates scattered around for everyone to take since lunch consisted mostly of fries and coke. The grass prickled Erik's arms as he laid down but he never mentioned it, as always.

Mathilde and Preben shared a cigarette across from Erik.

"Since when do y'smoke again?"

"I only need nicotine when dealing with you, you know that."

Preben just laughed it off, saying he loved her too. The words made Erik's stomach churn but he ignored it since it was mostly because of the greasy food anyway.

She was sitting in his lap, casually feeding him fries when she found them not worthy of her time. It was the sickest thing Erik had ever seen in his whole life but he suppressed the feeling to throw up here and now and picked the clover from in between the grass.

"what is so special about this party anyway?" He heard himself ask, mostly to get those two to stop whatever they were doing.

Mathilde gulped down some more soda through her straw but Preben cut her off as soon as she wanted to speak up.

"Mr. Vargas wants to be known as a cool dad so he makes sure that everyone has a good time."

"Which means free drinking and partying with a supervising adult who doesn't give two shits." Tino added.

Preben grinned. "We behave, I swear."

Mathilde and Preben had started laughing because of some stupid inside joke or something. Tino had noticed Erik's annoyed look and had just rolled his eyes with a smile. It wasn't much but it kinda made him feel at little bit better at least.

"Just make sure you watch out for these two, they have a reputation of getting drunk." Mathilde told him while feeding Preben another fry.

Preben and Tino clinked their soda to that, proudly chuckling with the reputation they had managed to build from a few years of party traditions.

Erik wasn't sure if he was ready for that kind of commitment in a friendship.

* * *

**I cannot write Germany and Italy to save my life, have you noticed?**

**Anyway, sorry for the wait. I'm horrible with filler chapters since i just want things to progress a lot faster than they should. This also means that the next chapter will contain some action, finally.**

**I wanna thank everyone who deemed this work worthy of a favourite or a follow, i honestly feel honoured! It really motivates me to keep on writing this silly thing because i know that there are people who enjoy reading it.**

**Here on Fanfiction people already blessed me with some reviews and comments, but i'd love to know how all of you think of this work so far. I have a lot to learn and every comment would really help me out. A comment just really makes my day**

**Thanks again 3 I hope I won't disappoint.**


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